A number of storage vessels for combustible fuel are known.
Fuel is commonly stored as a compressed gas or in a liquefied form in a pressurised cylinder. Conventional cylinders typically consist of a single chamber and are designed to be resistant to puncture from minor impacts, but generally are not designed to withstand serious trauma.
When the fuel is in a liquid form, the storage vessel may have a series of baffles to prevent the motion of the liquid from unbalancing the vessel during movement. However, such baffles typically do not increase the ability of the vessel to withstand serious impacts.
A single chamber design does not exert any control over the release of fuel when such storage vessels are punctured, typically resulting in an explosive release of pressurised fuel from the vessel.
In the presence of a flame or spark, the sudden release of large quantities of fuel may result in a high speed fireball. Alternatively, a flame could burn back into the vessel, exploding the remaining fuel content and vessel and creating a serious hazard from flying shrapnel.
The move towards the use of alternative fuels other than hydrocarbons has also increased the need for inherently safe storage vessels for highly flammable fuels in automobiles, trucks and buses (hereafter referred to as automobiles).
A number of vessels have been designed to store fuels such as hydrogen. To date, many of these have been based on the use of alloys which chemically absorb hydrogen into a matrix. Under certain controlled conditions these alloys release hydrogen, available for fuel. However, these alloys require one set of controlled conditions for absorption of the fuel and another for releasing the fuel. As such, the complexity of these devices makes them expensive and not suitable for use for small storage situations such as automobiles.
Further, in the event that an automobile is involved in a collision it is possible the storage vessel will be subjected to a violent impact. It is essential that any emission of the vessel contents be released in a controlled manner to prevent an explosion.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing problems or at least to provide the public with a useful choice.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of example only.